LPD Attorney Mallory Given New Duties

LAKELAND | Lakeland police attorney Roger Mallory has been relieved of his duties as the public records custodian.

By JOHN CHAMBLISSTHE LEDGER

LAKELAND | Lakeland Police Department lawyer Roger Mallory has been relieved of his duties to advise the department on the release of public records.

Mallory, 60, has been reassigned to other law enforcement- related duties at LPD, according to a press release. Hired in 2005, he is paid a yearly salary of $106,038.

The department has retained former 2nd District Court of Appeal Judge Monterey Campbell to consult and assist the department with matters relating to public records, the release said.

Campbell said Friday he plans to meet with Police Chief Lisa Womack to discuss his new duties and salary.

Womack did not return a phone message seeking comment Friday. The 82-year-old Campbell, a Bartow native, works at GrayRobinson, a local firm that does other work for the city. GrayRobinson is one of four firms hired by the city to deal with a grand jury inquiry into the department. The firm has billed the city $40,654 related to that case, much of it for work trying to prevent the release of the grand jury’s report, called a presentment.

Campbell was chief judge of the Lakeland-based 2nd District Court of Appeal from 1988 to 1990.

In working with LPD, Campbell said, “I’m not going in to dictate things.”

Campbell said Mark Miller, also a lawyer with GrayRobinson, asked him to help LPD. Miller was one of two lawyers who sent a letter to city commissioners explaining why it’s important that the grand jury report remain sealed.

Earlier this year, a grand jury began investigating LPD following a story published in The Ledger that described problems getting records from the department.

No criminal charges were filed as a result of the grand jury’s investigation into LPD, but it released a presentment Feb. 14 that was then sealed by a judge.

Campbell said GrayRobinson’s work for the city won’t interfere with his new duties.

“If I saw it as a conflict, I wouldn’t be in a position I’m about to get in,” Campbell said. “If there is a conflict, I will step aside.”

The action to relieve Mallory and hire Campbell comes five days after the department again became involved in a dispute over the release of public records. The department at first refused to release to The Ledger a robbery suspect’s full arrest report, one of the most common public records produced by law enforcement.

The Ledger spent almost two days attempting to obtain the arrest report. A reporter first wrote to Capt. John Thomason, LPD’s spokesman, sending an email requesting the report at 9:36 a.m. Monday. Thomason responded after conferring with Mallory, who refused to release the full report, calling it active investigative information.

Only after multiple requests Monday and Tuesday from the reporter and, ultimately, Gregg Thomas, a Tampa media lawyer representing the newspaper, did the agency release the report. Mallory initially argued through an agency spokesman that the pages he withheld were considered criminal investigative information, which state public records law allows the police to withhold in certain circumstances.

However, Florida records law says documents given to an arrested person — or required to be given to an arrested person — cannot be considered investigative information that is exempt from public view.

City Commissioner Howard Wiggs said Friday that Mallory should be fired.

“Certainly, Roger should be gone if he was responsible for that,” Wiggs said. “If a person is responsible for ongoing misbehavior, I don’t understand why he is still a member of our department.”

Wiggs lauded Campbell, saying he has a stellar reputation, but he said city officials waited too long to make changes.

“It is disappointing that we were resistant to this,” he said. “It casts some questions on why we didn’t do this sooner.”

Lakeland Mayor Gow Fields said bringing on Campbell will help the department.

He said the department typically provides public records in a timely manner but has room for improvement.

“We think we need to get it right 100 percent of the time,” Fields said. “These changes we are making will get us where we need to be, so 100 percent of the time we can meet the media’s expectations on the release of public records and for you (The Ledger) to be our partner to have an adequately informed public.

“We want to honor our commitment to the State Attorney’s Office. They are our partners in law enforcement.”

Commissioners Justin Troller and Don Selvage said bringing in Campbell is a good step.

“It looks like there is some accountability starting to take place,” Troller said. “People have been asking me, ‘What is going on over there?’ ” Selvage said he’s eager to hear how City Manager Doug Thomas and Womack explain Campbell’s new duties during a city retreat Thursday at The Lakeland Center. It starts at 8 a.m. Selvage pushed for the discussion about the public records problems after he read in the newspaper about the latest issue.

He said he’s in favor of hiring Campbell if he can settle disputes between those who file requests and LPD.

“We seem to have a fundamental disagreement (about the release of records),” Selvage said. “I’m hoping this is a step forward.”

It’s unclear from Friday’s news release what Mallory will continue to do at the department or whether he will receive a reduction in his salary.

“Chief Womack also indicated that Lakeland Police Department attorney Roger Mallory, who previously was responsible for all legal issues within the LPD, including the release of public records, has been reassigned to other law enforcement-related duties within the LPD,” the release said.

Doug Thomas said he has no plans to replace Mallory.

“The bulk of Mr. Mallory’s day-to-day responsibilities deal with assistance to law enforcement personnel and related activity including investigations, forfeitures, criminal law matters, sworn law enforcement employee labor matters, etc.,” he said. “As such, there is sufficient work for the position absent of any ongoing FS Chapter 119 matters.”

In the news release about the changes, Doug Thomas said the city fully supports Florida’s public records policy.

“We believe former Judge Campbell’s expertise will be of assistance not only to the LPD, but also to the entire municipal operation in our commitment to ensure that public records requests are processed in an expedient and transparent manner,” he said in the release.

There are several resources to learn from, she said, in particular training from the Florida Association of Police Attor neys and Flor ida Depa r tment of Law Enforcement.

“There are some special issues with regard to law enforcement,” she said. “But any lawyer who has experience with government records knows that the only basis for whether a record is exempt is the law, not whether the agency thinks it should or shouldn’t be.”

[ John Chambliss can be reached at john.chambliss@theledger. com or 863-802-7588. Ledger reporter Matthew Pleasant contributed to this article. ]